


To Stand Between

by Zwarte Parel (Celandine)



Series: Will Turner Sequence [8]
Category: Pirates of the Caribbean
Genre: Drama, F/M, First Time, Multi, Romance, Smut, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-10-01
Updated: 2004-10-15
Packaged: 2017-10-12 16:11:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/126703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celandine/pseuds/Zwarte%20Parel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will and Elizabeth leave Port Royal and join Jack on the <em>Black Pearl</em>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In Their Proper Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Elizabeth have both promised to stand between Jack and Norrington - but how?

"Elizabeth, I have to go." Will Turner stood before the woman he loved and tried to find the words to explain himself, words she would accept. "I told Commodore Norrington that my place was between him and Jack, and I meant it. But I cannot stand between them here in Port Royal, journeyman to a blacksmith."

"Where will you go, and how?" Elizabeth asked. "I heard the Commodore say he would give Jack a day's head start – but for all Jack knows, the entire available royal fleet will be after him today. The _Black Pearl_ is gone, Will. How are you going to find her? You have no ship of your own. Besides – what do you think I will do in your absence? Embroider? I spoke the same as you, and I meant what I said just as you did. If you must be off to join a pirate crew, I shall go with you – I ask only that we first be married."

"I cannot take you on a pirate ship," said Will. "You cannot expect me to expose you needlessly to danger again." He cast about for further arguments. "They say it is bad luck to have a woman aboard ship, too."

She laughed at him. "You know you don't believe that. It's not as if I would even be the only woman on board the _Pearl_ – Anamaria is there as helmsman already."

"But – your father. Surely you would not want to leave the governor alone."

"Father gave up any say over me to you just now, when he agreed – however tacitly – that we should be married," she reminded him. "Stop trying to change my mind, Will. It won't work. If you stayed here as a smith, I would be content enough – but if you are determined to go, I will go with you. ‘Whither thou goest,' love," she quoted the verse from Ruth, her hands on her hips, her eyes reflecting the limitless sea behind him, beautiful in the bright sun.

"All right, Elizabeth," Will capitulated, "we will go together."

"Good."

"I don't see how we can be married first, though, because I intend to leave tonight."

Elizabeth bit her lip. "Tonight? How so soon?"

"I thought I would try to find a ship that will go to Tortuga. Jack won't be back to Port Royal in the _Pearl_ any time soon – you are quite right there – but I will lay odds that he will get to Tortuga sooner or later, I hope sooner. But, Elizabeth," Will warned, "it isn't a place anything like what you are accustomed to. It is a whole town – well, settlement – full of pirates, cutthroats, thieves, and... and whores," he mumbled the last word. "Enough folk that I would think there should be a priest there, although I couldn't say for certain. If you are willing to take the chance, though, and wait until then?"

"I'll risk it," Elizabeth said decisively. "You had better go see if you can find us passage to Tortuga, Will, if you insist on leaving tonight. I will pack a few things to bring."

Will embraced her. "Not too many," he cautioned. "A dress or so and your underthings, that's all. I will stop at Brown's shop and collect mine." He hesitated, then added, "Have you any money? For our passage, if we need it?"

"About twenty pounds, I think, perhaps more. Father likes to give me pocket money, though I don't often spend much"

"Bring it, then. We might want it. I will come for you at the governor's mansion this afternoon." After one more hasty kiss, Will left.

When he climbed the hill with the good news that he had managed to secure passage for both of them on a ship leaving that evening, he found Elizabeth waiting outside the house, down by the gates.

"I left a letter for Father," she said, "and brought two of Mary's gowns. I had nothing of my own that seemed suitable." She indicated a large valise at her feet. "It is all in there."

Will picked up the case. "Are you sure now, Elizabeth," he asked gently. "Once we leave, it may well be difficult, even impossible, for you to return. Governor Swann granted me clemency once; I cannot expect it again."

"I know." She looked up at her father's house, but he saw no regret cross her face. "I do not mean to return. These past few days I have felt more alive than in all the years since we arrived in Port Royal. I cannot return to that stifled life."

"As long as you are certain." They began to walk down towards the port. "I left my things packed at the smithy; we can collect them on the way."

"You _are_ free to leave, aren't you, Will? You don't still owe your master time?"

"Oh, no, as a journeyman I may leave when I choose. It is certain that Mr. John Brown has nothing more to teach me. I might have gone already to one of the other settlements – Kingston, maybe – but I could not leave while you remained here."

Elizabeth flushed and glanced at him, then away. They walked in silence to the smithy where Will collected two bundles to add to Elizabeth's valise.

"Did you pay our passage already?" she asked. "Or should I take out some money here for you to give the man?"

"I gave him ten percent as earnest, and will give the rest of half tonight. The other half, when we reach Tortuga," Will told her. "I have enough." He led the way down to the docks and introduced Elizabeth as "Mistress Turner" to Harry Lightener, captain of the _Gull_ , who would be taking them off the island.

Lightener made his living moving people and goods between the Caribbean islands – sometimes legally, sometimes not, which explained why he would take them to Tortuga, where few if any legitimate ships dared go. Will was glad that the man was taciturn, merely nodding when Will brought Elizabeth aboard. They had a tiny cabin, with a bunk scarcely wide enough for one person, and Will immediately assured Elizabeth that he would sleep on the floor.

The two-day journey was uneventful. Will and Elizabeth spent most of it on deck, trying to stay out of the crew's way, talking. Will told her about his childhood in Portsmouth with his mother, and how lucky he had been to be able to travel out to the islands after she died, to seek his father. Elizabeth had never known her mother, who had died just after her birth, and she confessed to Will that her father had perhaps been overindulgent with her as a consequence.

"Were he not, you would not be here now with me," Will remarked. "You would most likely already be Mistress Norrington."

She leaned against him, and he put his arm around her waist.

As the _Gull_ rounded the cape into Tortuga Bay, Will looked ahead eagerly for the _Black Pearl_ , but Sparrow's ship was nowhere to be seen.

"What do we do now?"

"Stay and wait. I will see if there is temporary work here for a blacksmith, to earn a little money," said Will.

The second smithy he asked at needed another pair of hands, and once Will had demonstrated his skill, the smith, Thomas Ketterly, was willing to pay him enough to maintain them in lodgings while they waited for the _Pearl_ to appear in port.

As soon as he had secured work, Will inquired of Ketterly if there was a priest available in Tortuga. The man laughed, showing stained yellow teeth.

"A priest? What, d'you want to make your communion like a good little boy? Nay, there is no priest in Tortuga. Last one we had fled after a week. The one before that is now a very successful businessman – half the whores in town work for him. But he's not priesting anymore."

Will regretfully reported this to Elizabeth that evening. She pondered it for a while, and finally said, "Well, can't a ship's captain perform a marriage ceremony? Could Jack do it, when he arrives and we go with him in the _Black Pearl_?"

"I think that ships' captains can marry off their passengers," said Will in a dubious tone, "but a pirate captain? I don't know." He found the idea of asking a man he had once had pinned under him on the bed to perform his wedding just a bit incongruous, as well, although he did not want to explain that to Elizabeth.

"Have you any better idea?" asked Elizabeth, and Will had to admit that he did not.

A week went by, and then another. Will was content enough with his work to occupy him, but Elizabeth grew quickly restless. Will scrupulously refrained from touching her beyond a few kisses and embraces, and she was impatient. At last, though, she came to the smithy to tell Will that she had seen the familiar lines of the _Pearl_ tacking across the water.

Once he had finished that day's work, Will gave notice to Ketterly and hurried with Elizabeth back to their room to fetch the second, smaller parcel he had brought from Port Royal, and which had remained unopened. He was unsure where they might find Jack, or anyone from the _Black Pearl_ , so they went first to the tavern where Jack had been the last time he had been in port. Two weeks' residence in Tortuga had accustomed Elizabeth somewhat to the local attitudes, so Will worried less than once he would have done about bringing her to such a place.

Luck was with them. As they entered, above the clatter and noise of the room, Will heard someone say, "Well, well. Look what we have here. Miss Swann and young Mister Turner." He would have recognized the sound of that voice anywhere.

Jack Sparrow – _Captain_ Jack Sparrow, Will corrected his thought – was sitting in a corner with several of his crew. "I wondered if you would be here," he said to Will as they reached the table.

"Captain, a word with you? Elizabeth, I will be right back," Will said, hooking one foot around a bench to pull it out for her to sit. "Please," he whispered in her ear. "Just wait." She looked rebellious, but slid onto the seat and greeted the others present.

Out of earshot – not very far, given the propensity of the clientele towards raucous behavior – Will handed Jack the package he carried.

"You asked for a hat," he said, embarrassed now that it came to it. The hat he had bought in Port Royal, thinking it very fine, seemed somehow out of place in the present surroundings, but Jack looked pleased enough, turning it in his hand to admire the green plumes that surmounted it.

"Thank you, lad. But surely you and Miss Swann didn't travel to Tortuga just to bring me a hat," Jack said, with a raking glance.

"I came to join your crew. If you will have me."

"And Miss Swann?"

"She insisted on accompanying me."

"To Tortuga? Or does she expect to sail?"

Will met Jack's gaze. "She says she will go wherever I do."

"Gibbs won't like it," Jack mused. "He complains about Anamaria already, though she's as good or better as sailor than he."

"It's what _you_ like that matters, isn't it?" said Will.

"Will she remain Miss Swann?" asked Jack shrewdly. "Or become Mistress Turner?"

"There's no priest in Tortuga," hedged Will.

"No, but..." Jack stepped closer. "You _do_ intend to marry the girl, don't you? Why else did you go to all that trouble to rescue her?"

"Of course I will marry her." Will blushed. "We hoped – as a ship's captain – you could do the honors?"

Jack laughed. "I don't know if the law would concede my right to do so, but if your Elizabeth does, why not." He gripped Will's shoulder, his voice serious. "I'll leave it to you to decide what you wish to tell her about – other matters," he said, running his tongue along his lower lip.

"Thank you," said Will in gratitude. "I would – not consider those matters excluded, necessarily, by wedding Elizabeth."

"Ah," breathed Jack. "Would you not? I will think on that. I swear, you are more like to your father than any son has the right to be," he finished more loudly, seeing Gibbs come toward them. "We're to have an addition to the crew, Gibbs. Young Will here, and the soon-to-be Mistress Turner as well."

"The first is no more than I expected," said Gibbs, "but Captain, another woman? Bad luck enough to have one, but two on board ship? We'll go down in the first storm."

"If it weren't for Miss Swann, none of us would be in our present good circumstances," said Jack. "She's not been bad luck for me. Nor Will. Nor you, for that matter."

Gibbs had to concede that, but he shook Will's hand with considerably more enthusiasm than he showed when the three of them returned to the table where Elizabeth still sat with the other two members of the _Pearl_ 's crew. Jack welcomed her more warmly, bending over her hand with an extravagant flourish of his new hat. He gave Gibbs a few muttered orders, then sent Will off to collect his and Elizabeth's things and bring them down to the longboat at the dock. The _Black Pearl_ stood offshore, and when Will returned, only Jack and Elizabeth remained, waiting for the boat to come back for them.

Will felt a stab of uncertainty, seeing the two together. Was he not risking much, bringing Elizabeth with him to serve at Jack's command? How could he express what he felt for each, without betraying both? He pushed the thought aside and went forward.

"I was just telling Miss Swann – Elizabeth – that I will marry you two tonight, if you like." A small half-smile curled Jack's lip. "And as my gift for your wedding night, I will give up my cabin to you. Only for one night, mind you. After this we will have to work out – other arrangements."

"That is awfully kind of you, Jack," said Elizabeth, and Will echoed her. They stood and talked of nothing much, then, until Cotton returned with the boat and took them out to the _Pearl_.

Afterward Will remembered only flashes of the ceremony. He recalled Jack stripping the ring from his own forefinger when Will had none to place on Elizabeth's hand, and the light on Elizabeth's face as made her vows, but nothing more until Gibbs led them, grinning, to Jack's cabin from which he had removed the captain's necessaries.

They were alone. They were married at last. Elizabeth was smiling up at him. Why could he not move? He watched as she unfastened her gown with deliberate fingers and, clad only in her white muslin shift, led him by the hand to Jack's bed. Will closed his mind to the implications of that and helped her remove his own clothes before he lifted her chemise over her head and tumbled them both onto the mattress.

He kissed her, tracing her lips with his tongue until they parted and he could explore the taste of her mouth. To his delight, she reciprocated wholeheartedly, and when he pulled back a little she made a disappointed noise. Will traced down her neck and shoulder to cup one breast, rubbing his thumb over the nipple and feeling it harden under his touch. He used lips and tongue to trace a parallel route to her other breast, and heard her gasp. Elizabeth's hands threaded into his hair and tugged him back up to her face.

"Oh, Will," she murmured, pressing little kisses across his cheek.

"Elizabeth," he began, and took a breath. "Love, I want you to know – I have never been with any woman the way we will be together tonight. I have never wanted another woman besides you. I have waited for you ever since I first saw you when I was a half-drowned boy of thirteen, and I can wait longer, if you would rather."

"No, of course not," she said in a tone of surprise. "I have never doubted your love, and I do not wish to wait. I love you, Will. I want to be entirely your wife."

"I love you, too, but I have heard that women sometimes feel pain, the first time – I don't want to hurt you."

"I trust you," said Elizabeth. "I know that you will be gentle."

Will kissed her again, hard, and ran his hand along the length of her body. He was glad that his experiences with men had taught him how to hold back. The sheer realization that it was Elizabeth here with him, the woman he had loved for eight years with little hope of winning, was almost enough to undo him.

He knew men's bodies well, but a woman's body was new to him, and he explored Elizabeth's with hands and mouth alike. He skin and flesh were softer, more yielding than he was accustomed to, provoking in him a desire to tenderness. He touched the hair between her legs, and even that was silkier than his own. The bump of flesh there quivered as he ran a finger over it, and on impulse he moved down to suckle just as he would with a man. Elizabeth gave a squeak as he took her in his mouth and flicked his tongue rapidly over the firm nub.

Sliding a finger inside her moist tunnel, Will marveled at the difference. No oil needed here to ease the way. He felt resistance, and pressed harder, using a second finger to stretch the passage. A gasp alerted him that here was the reason why women felt pain, and he moved more slowly, circling his tongue around that sensitive flesh so that Elizabeth's pleasure would overcome her discomfort. She cried out softly in unmistakable delight, and Will felt a rush of pride that paralleled the rush of desire. He could wait no longer.

Will moved up until he was resting his weight on his hands, above Elizabeth's shoulders. Her eyes were closed and her face flushed as he slowly slid into her. He wanted to thrust hard, holding back lest he hurt her. She shifted slightly underneath him, but as he held still she relaxed until he could move in and out with some ease. He relaxed too and let the sensations build in intensity, reaching a peak that rivaled any he had ever felt, and with a last push, he spent.

"Are you all right?" he whispered after a few moments' rest.

Elizabeth nodded against his shoulder. "Perfectly all right, love."

"Good," Will said in relief, and hugged her. "We should sleep, then. I don't know what we will be called on to do tomorrow."

"No," she agreed, and snuggled into the curve of his arm. "Goodnight, my husband."

"Goodnight, my wife," he said, savoring the word as he spoke it. My wife. Elizabeth. As he drifted into sleep, though, he remembered where he was, and wondered if he would ever be in that bed again.


	2. The Rules That Really Matter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once aboard the _Black Pearl_ , Will must resolve his feelings for Elizabeth and Jack.

Over the next few days after they were married on the _Pearl_ , Will and Elizabeth became somewhat accustomed to life aboard ship. Jack designated Will as second mate, after Gibbs as first, and Anamaria began teaching Elizabeth how to set a course and steer. She was not quite strong enough to do all the chores a ship required, though she was surprisingly adept in climbing the rigging – borrowing trousers from Anamaria to do so, for modesty's sake. A tiny cabin partitioned off from the bunks of the rest of the crew gave them a modicum of privacy at night, though they remained thankful that Jack had lent them his cabin for their first night of marriage.

The _Black Pearl_ made anchor in a small bay on the far side of the island of Tortuga during this time to allow Jack and his crew to make all the repairs still needed after the battle with the _Interceptor_. Gibbs had jury-rigged patches before Jack's escape from the noose, but more work was necessary and the _Pearl_ 's captain insisted that she be as sound as ever before leaving her place of concealment. He had no particular fear of the royal navy, now that its fastest ship in the Caribbean was gone, but preferred to minimize his risks.

Will was happy, spending his days learning new skills and his nights with a passionate Elizabeth, but nevertheless found his eyes sliding to Jack at stray moments, and often enough caught the captain looking back at him. One afternoon as Will sat on the deck near the stern splicing rope – a technique he had just mastered – he heard Jack's footsteps behind him, and then Jack's voice in his ear.

"Have you given any further thought to certain matters?" was the quiet question. "I have. I'll show you no favoritism otherwise, you understand, but even a captain can be – lonely at night."

"I have too, captain," Will kept his eyes on the rope, "but Elizabeth is no fool. She is likely to guess how things are – so I must tell her, first. I will not break her heart, not after she has given up so much for me."

"And has she told you everything of her life?" Jack sounded amused.

"I cannot deceive her that way."

"Is she not likely to – disapprove? What will your course be then? She's a woman of spirit, not one to accept a husband's foibles tamely."

"True-spoken." Will sighed. "That is why I have not said anything to her as yet."

Jack put a hand on his shoulder. Will could feel the heat of the captain's body as Jack breathed into his ear, "Perhaps your fair lady would be less unwilling to turn a blind eye to your amusements if she came in for a share of them? Think about that, young Turner." Suddenly he was gone and Will was alone.

Share Elizabeth with Jack? Surely the captain was joking. Elizabeth was his wife. No one should touch her but himself. Even to suggest such a thing to her would probably offend her as much as or more than learning what Will and Jack had done together, and hoped to continue. What he wanted to do with Jack, was that not different from Elizabeth being with another man? Or was it? Will tried to imagine Elizabeth's reaction, and could not. To his knowledge she had never loved another; even her brief engagement to Norrington had been caused by her feelings for Will. How could she be interested in sharing her bed and body with some other man? If he suggested it, though, and she refused, would she be more or less likely to be willing to allow him to be with Jack? Will sighed to himself. The only way to find out would be to ask, and he could put that off no longer, it was clear.

That night he drew Elizabeth aside. She was browned from the sun, and thinner than she had been.

"Are you feeling well, my love?" Will asked with a touch of anxiety. "Not regretting that you have come here with me?"

"Oh, no. I am enjoying it." She pushed a lock of sun-streaked hair that had escaped from its braid back behind her ear. "As long as I can be with you, that is what matters most to me."

Will's heart sank a bit at those words. Nevertheless he persevered. Taking her hand, he led her to the rail near the stern and sat them both down on the deck. "Elizabeth, I need to talk to you about something. About Jack." Then he stopped speaking, unsure of how to continue.

"What about Jack?" Will could see Elizabeth's eyes searching his face, her glance towards the prow of the ship, gauging the captain's position.

"He made a suggestion..." Will paused again, continuing, "No, that's not the way to explain it. Do you remember what I told you the night we were married?"

She wrinkled her nose at him. "That you would wait if I wanted?"

"No, that I'd never been with a woman before."

"Yes... what are you saying, Will? Not that you were with another woman, after all?"

"Oh, no, Elizabeth. No, never, I would never lie to you. You are the only woman I have ever loved, the only one I've ever been with."

"Then what? And what does that have to do with Jack?" she said in bewildered tones.

He tried again. "Have you ever desired anyone but me? How did you feel about Norrington, knowing that he wanted you in that way, as part of marriage?"

Elizabeth put her head to one side. "I didn't really think about how he felt about that. He would have been a good match for many reasons, but I did not think of the physical side of marriage with him with any enthusiasm."

"Was there ever anyone else who made your blood heat?"

"Well..." she trailed off.

Will waited for her to continue.

"When Barbossa put me off the ship, onto that island, and we didn't know how we might leave, Jack was... attentive. I didn't mind it, really, I found him oddly intriguing, but he was not you, so I declined to accept his attentions." She looked at him in alarm. "You do not think he would press them now, do you? Surely not."

He squeezed her hand. "Jack is a good man, though he is a pirate. He would not intrude himself if you made it clear you were unwilling. But... I am willing. For myself," he added hastily at her shocked expression. "Do you understand what I mean?"

She stiffened. "Willing to give me to Jack?"

"No, willing to be with him myself. It's not uncommon among sailors, off at sea for weeks or months without women."

"But... I thought... you have me, Will. We love each other. I suppose I don't understand."

"It isn't a question of love, not the way I love you. Never think that I will ever love you less. Do you believe that?"

"Yes, I believe that," but Elizabeth's voice held a hint of doubt.

"When I first sprang Jack from the gaol and we were on the _Interceptor_ before picking up the crew in Tortuga, he and I..." Will shrugged his shoulders and said it bluntly. "We had sex. It was good, more than good, and he would like to continue... and so would I. I owe him that much, or maybe he owes me. But I didn't want to deceive you about this, so I felt I had to talk to you, at least. He also suggested..."

"Suggested what?"

"That, if you wished, you might join us," Will finished somewhat reluctantly.

"Join you?" she said in tones that spiraled upward. "Join you?" She pulled her hand free and stood. "Don't follow me, Will. I need to think, alone."

Will watched unhappily as she walked off. He felt he had not explained matters well. Maybe he should have asked Jack to be there? The captain had a silver tongue, and might have been more persuasive. No, it would have only made the situation more awkward still. Better to have done as he did.

Elizabeth behaved almost as usual for the remainder of that evening – to anyone's eyes but Will's. She spoke little to him and avoided his gaze, and when they retired for the night she turned her back. He watched her surreptitiously all the next day, hoping that she would come speak to him so that he could try again to assure her of his love, and apologize for hurting her. But she did not.

As the sun sank into red clouds above the horizon, he saw her walk up to the captain. Tension knotted his shoulders at the sight of Elizabeth and Jack in deep conversation, though he continued his own tasks and managed to speak casually enough when Gibbs came to consult with him about some of the iron fittings for the cannon. When next he was able to look around the deck, neither of them was visible. Panic stirred in Will's gut. Where had they gone? What was Elizabeth saying? He wanted to race around the ship to find them, but knew he could not. He would just have to wait.

It was not until late in the starry evening that he saw them return to the deck. Elizabeth was nodding to Jack as they parted and she came over to Will. "So," she said as she came up to him.

Will stood mute. The moonlight fell across Elizabeth's hair and face, but her eyes were shadowed and he could not read them.

"To be a pirate," she said. "I dreamed of that, you know, especially after the crossing from England. I read everything I could find about them. But women cannot be pirates, that was always clear enough, and my father would have been horrified at the mere idea that I thought about them. And then – then the _Black Pearl_ came, and all that happened after. You know most of it. I was frightened, yes, for myself and for you too, but also exhilarated, and that is why I would not let you leave me behind. Jack said something, when we were stranded together, that is what all this means to me. He said that the keel and hull and deck and sails , those are what a ship _needs_ , but what a ship really _is_ , is freedom. That is what I wanted, what I still want, why I am here with you on the _Pearl_ now. For freedom. For the endless horizons. Not to be a thief or a murderer, though that is what the world assumes of pirates. But for the open sea and the free winds that blow there."

He was nodding, listening to her.

"So," she said again. "I cannot pretend to understand why you wish this, not really, though Jack tried to explain it as well. But I have made an agreement with him. I don't want my husband to go somewhere that I cannot follow. Nor do I wish to live in fear that you will leave me or deceive me if I am unwilling to grant you your desire. I will accept Jack's suggestion and join you, but in return I ask that you grant me freedom as well. Not the freedom to betray you, but to think and judge and act for myself, not needing to seek your approval as you – this time – have sought mine. Will you accept this? Because, you see, the rules that really matter are the ones we accept of our own volition."

Will was quiet, thinking. In their vows she had promised to obey him – but then, he had also promised to cleave unto her only. Dared he ask what agreement she had made with Jack? What if it was something he could not accept? He must, and did.

"Jack promised me three things. First, that I would bear no child to him. Second, that he would not treat me nor think of me as a wife. I am your wife, Will, only yours, despite all – this. Third, that he would not show any favoritism towards either of us compared to the rest of the crew – that, he was more than willing to do, for it would undermine his authority as captain."

Elizabeth would bear no child to Jack? Will was uncertain how that could be ensured, but he would assume that Elizabeth knew what she was talking about. As for the rest, her conditions were more than fair. He caught her up against him, murmuring into her hair, "Love, how could I not accept the gift of such a generous heart? I thank you, I thank you. You will not regret this, I promise."

She was rigid in his arms, and Will realized that for all her brave words, she feared what she had done. He kissed her temples, then her mouth until she yielded to him. When he felt her relax, he asked, "What would you have us do now? I would go to Jack tonight, but you are free to choose whether you will or no."

A sigh escaped her, and she said, "I will go with you tonight. I promised that I should, you see – that was part of my accord with Jack, as well, that I would be there this first time. He is in his cabin now, waiting."

Will wondered what else she might have promised, but it was not his right to force her to tell. He had given her her freedom, and was grateful enough for what she had given him. He took her arm and guided her along the deck toward the stairs. If any of the rest of the crew noticed, they would assume that Will and Elizabeth were off to snatch a moment of privacy belowdecks. When they reached the captain's cabin, Will would have knocked, but Elizabeth opened the door before he could do so.

"There you are," said Jack lazily, pouring a glass of rum. "Come here, love," he said to Elizabeth, handing it to her. "You're a pirate now, and this is a pirate's drink, so drink up. Ungentleman-like behavior is tonight's game, anyhow." He gave another to Will and lifted his own glass, suddenly serious. "So we have an accord, do we now? We'll have a drink to seal the bargain. And I will throw any man off this crew who says a word about what I choose to do."

Elizabeth sipped at the strong spirit while the two men knocked theirs back quickly and Jack refilled them. Will sat against the head of Jack's bed, Elizabeth between them leaning on Will's chest, Jack in a chair next to the bed. When they had nearly finished their glasses, Will handed his to Jack and, holding Jack's eyes with his own stare, began to stroke Elizabeth's cheek with a single finger.

"Ah," Jack said, and took Elizabeth's glass as well, setting them all aside and moving around to sit next to Will on the bed. He leaned over to Elizabeth, saying, "This is your last chance to turn back. Time to choose."

She half-turned so that she faced them both. Looking from one to the other, slowly she nodded. Will could see the pulse beat fast in her neck as she reached out to touch Jack's face. Jack caught her hand and kissed each finger. His eyes flicked to Will and he arched an eyebrow. Will hesitated a fraction, then nodded. If Elizabeth had agreed, he could not object. Jack smiled and pulled Elizabeth closer, kissing her across Will's body. Will remembered what it had been like to kiss Jack, and wondered if he kissed women the same as he kissed men, strong and demanding. He ran his hands along Elizabeth's neck and back as the two kissed, and when they finally broke apart, drew her toward himself.

There was an indefinable difference in the feel of her mouth, and he could taste Jack as well as herself as his tongue explored hers. He felt Jack shift on the bed, and his hands began to unbutton Will's shirt. Knowing fingers stroked along his chest. Soon he was bare to the waist, dimly aware that Jack had taken off his own shirt and was loosening Elizabeth's bodice also. Will reached out to touch his wife's breast, and met Jack's hand there already. He ended the kiss and waited till Elizabeth opened her eyes.

Her lips were still half-parted when she gazed at him. Jack tweaked one nipple and she gasped and turned toward the captain. He grinned and deliberately extended his other hand to touch Will in exactly the same way. Will gasped just as Elizabeth had, then took Jack by the shoulders and drew him in for a bruising kiss. He felt Elizabeth slide her hand sensuously around his waist, and was sure that she was making the identical gesture to Jack, though the kisses on his shoulder were wholly his own. Being kissed and touched by both of them at once – his cock was so hard that he feared he would spill before he even took off his trousers. Jack was making low noises against his mouth.

Will wanted to make sure that Elizabeth did not regret her decision, so he used one hand to inch up her leg underneath her skirts until he reached the warm, damp hair of her groin. She was kneeling with her legs slightly apart, and he was able to slip a finger inside and spread her wetness up to her stiff nub, rubbing lightly but firmly and feeling her quiver in reaction. Jack apparently understood what was happening, for he released Will's mouth and moved away to first strip down completely and then help Will finish removing Elizabeth's dress.

His grace, standing behind Elizabeth and balancing with the sway of the boat, made Will pause and stare for a long moment. Elizabeth saw his distraction and glanced over her shoulder as well. Will saw her throat move as she swallowed, looking at Jack's cock nested in its thatch of dark hair, balls scarcely visible below. Jack smiled at them and said, almost conversationally, "You're lagging behind, young Will. It isn't right that you should still have your clothes on when your lovely wife and I do not."

Dry-mouthed, Will rose and made a movement to unlace his trousers, but Jack was too quick for him. Within moments he was as bare as the others and very conscious of Jack standing close behind him, so close he could feel the warmth of his skin though only Jack's hand touched him at the join of shoulder and neck, turning him to face Elizabeth as she sat on the edge of the bed.

She was regarding them gravely, and Will moved towards her. He nudged her to lie down and lowered his face between her thighs, licking her there until she was tossing her head and making little whimpering noises. He looked up and saw that Jack was suckling on one breast and rubbing the other nipple between finger and thumb. "Oh, please, Will, please," she said huskily. Will touched Jack's shoulder and the captain moved away. As Will shifted up to slide his aching cock into Elizabeth, feeling the wetness as if all the sea were contained inside her, Jack fetched a pot of salve and Will felt it cool between his buttocks as Jack applied it liberally, stretching him for a moment before fingers were followed by Jack's cock.

Will paused for a moment to adjust to the sensation of simultaneously penetrating and being penetrated. It was so exquisite that he nearly wept with joy. Elizabeth tightened around him as he drove into her, and Jack timed his own thrusts to match Will's so that the three of them moved together as if one, and one with the ship and the swaying sea all around them. Elizabeth cried out, pulling Will towards her, her hands low around his waist, touching Jack's torso as well. Will moved in and out for another several minutes, eliciting further small sounds from her, before the delicious friction in his ass combined with the smoother pressure of Elizabeth's passage to bring him to a shaking, shuddering climax.

He withdrew from her when his orgasm had passed. Jack had pulled out and was evidently waiting for him. Kissing Elizabeth once more as she lay flushed, eyes closed, he rolled over to lie beside her, raising his knees to his shoulders to allow Jack to enter him again. Jack growled as he slid home, and Will clenched his teeth before he was able to relax and let Jack ride him. Elizabeth's hand sought his and he saw her stealing glances at their coupling. For all that Jack had – Will presumed – been without a partner for the past weeks, he seemed able to prolong his pleasure as long as he wished, so long indeed that at last the stimulation caused Will's cock to rise again. Elizabeth's eyes widened and she reached over to caress Will there. Jack paused in his motions and caught her chin in his hand, bringing her in for a kiss before he resumed, now thrusting slower but deeper, as Will squirmed so that Jack's cock brushed the sweet spot inside him. He swelled against Elizabeth's touch and gave a strangled groan as he spent again, tightening his ass almost involuntarily as he did. That seemed to provoke Jack's lust to the final heights. He slammed into Will like a cannon firing and recoiling, again and again, and at last Will felt himself flooded with Jack's seed, the captain's hands loosening from their grip on Will's shoulders.

Elizabeth curled up against Will on one side, and Jack lay sprawled on the other, breathing fast and deep but slowly returning to normal. Will could scarcely believe where he was. Half a year before he had lived only with the hope of perhaps seeing Elizabeth that day or the next. Now he had the fair lady's heart, and something a little more physical from Jack as well. Jack's heart, Will well knew, would never belong to anyone, man or woman – it was given to the sea. But this was enough. And as far as Will was concerned, he would give his life for either of them.


End file.
